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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Acts chapter 14. Acts chapter 14, as we continue 
this first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas, covered 
in chapters 13 and 14. Last week, we looked simply at 
chapter 14, verse one. So we'll look at the rest of 
that section, the ministry in Iconium, verses one to seven, 
but I want to read the section just to remind us of the context. 
So beginning in chapter 14 at verse one. Now it happened in 
Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, 
and so spoke that a great multitude of the Jews and of the Greeks 
believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles 
and poisoned their minds against the brethren. Therefore they 
stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing 
witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to 
be done by their hands. But the multitude of the city 
was divided, part sided with the Jews and part with the apostles. 
And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and 
Jews with their rulers to abuse and stone them, they became aware 
of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lyconia and 
to the surrounding region. And they were preaching the gospel 
there. And in Lystra, a certain man without strength in his feet 
was sitting, a cripple from his mother's womb, who had never 
walked. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently 
and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud 
voice, Stand up straight on your feet. And he leaped and walked. 
Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their 
voices, saying in the Lycanian language, the gods have come 
down to us in the likeness of men. And Barnabas they called 
Zeus, and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. Then 
the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought 
oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the 
multitudes. But when the apostles Barnabas 
and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among 
the multitude, crying out and saying, Men, why are you doing 
these things? We also are men with the same 
nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from 
these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the 
earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, who in bygone 
generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless, 
he did not leave himself without witness, and that he did good, 
gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our 
hearts with food and gladness. And with these sayings, they 
could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them. Then 
Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded 
the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, 
supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered 
around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day 
he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached 
the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned 
to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the 
disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, 
We must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom of God. So 
when they had appointed elders in every church and prayed with 
fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had 
believed. And after they had passed through 
Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. Now when they had preached the 
word in Perga, they went down to Adalia. From there they sailed 
to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God 
for the work which they had completed. Now, when they had come and gathered 
the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, 
and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. So 
they stayed there a long time with the disciples. Amen. Let 
us pray. Father in Heaven, we thank You 
for Your Word. We thank You for this wonderful book of the Acts 
of the Apostles, the way that The apostles made disciples and 
planted churches and took the gospel from city to city and 
all over the Roman Empire. We give thanks to you that that 
gospel is still going forth, and we pray that you would bless 
it today, that it would run swiftly and be glorified, that it would 
go forth to every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and that 
you would let the nations be glad as the gospel comes with 
power by the Holy Spirit. And we would pray that even for 
our own meeting here this morning, for those who've come here that 
are still in their trespasses and sins, we pray that today 
would be the day of salvation. For God, you are gracious and 
merciful, and you have purpose to save a great multitude that 
no man can number. So we commit these souls to your 
care and pray that the Holy Spirit would take these things and apply 
them. For your people, God, I pray that you would help us each to 
grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. And again, 
forgive us for all of our sin and transgression, and fill us 
now with your Spirit. And may Christ be exalted and 
glorified in this meeting together. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, as I said, we're looking 
at the ministry in Iconium. The apostles had finished up 
in Pisidian Antioch. Iconium was about 90 miles southeast 
of Pisidian Antioch. And as I've said, with reference 
to this first missionary journey, it took place in AD 47 and 48. 
It covered a distance of about 1,400 miles. So you have Cyprus, 
the churches in Southern Galatia, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, 
and Derbe. Toward the end of the chapter, 
we see that as they conclude this mission, they go back through 
these cities, they go back to these churches, they encourage 
the brethren, and they appoint elders in those particular churches. 
So it's a wonderful way that the Lord God had used them to 
extend the ministry of the Word. Well, in Iconium, we have three 
things that deserve our attention. In the first place, we have the 
blessing of God in verse 1. Secondly, the opposition of the 
Jews in verses 2 and 3. And then finally, the division 
of the city in verses 4 to 7. I should tell you that there 
is an apocryphal book, it's called the Acts of Paul, and basically 
an apocryphal book was something that wasn't on par with Scripture. 
It wasn't the same as God-breathed Scripture. But in this Acts of 
Paul, it records the visit to Iconium. It's quite intriguing 
that it deals with this division in the city. But also interesting 
in this Acts of Paul is a description of who Paul or what Paul looked 
like. Now, everybody that cites it indicates that there's no 
way we can know this for sure. We don't know if it's accurate. 
But nevertheless, they cite it. And it's a description of this 
man, a bit short, a bit bowlegged, in good shape, which he'd have 
to be to be the sort of guy that we find here. long nose and apparently 
his eyebrows touched and but he had said he was full of grace 
and then it goes on to specify that at times he had the countenance 
of a man and at other times he had the countenance of an angel 
and I suspect that's why It's cited in the commentaries. Again, 
there's no way we could possibly know if this is accurate or true. 
But that description, notwithstanding the physical, we just don't know, 
but him having the countenance of a man and sometimes the countenance 
of an angel, I think that does jive with what we know of this 
Apostle Paul. So God is using this brother 
along with Barnabas to take the gospel to the nations, to baptize, 
and to teach, and to instruct, and to do the things of church 
planting. Let's look first at the blessing 
of God. We spent time on that small phrase 
where it says, they so spoke that a great multitude, both 
of the Jews and of the Greeks, believed. So it happened in Iconium 
that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews. They so 
spoke. So we did a bit of a biblical 
theology of preaching according to the Apostle Paul. Romans 10, 
1 Corinthians chapter 1, and 2 Timothy 4. Not that there isn't 
anything else about preaching, but those are three significant 
passages in the New Testament underscoring the importance of 
preaching. God is sovereign. God has purpose 
to save a great multitude that no man can number. God did chose, 
or choose rather, us in Him before the foundation of the world. 
But He's not only sovereign in terms of the net result, but 
in terms of the means that is taken to get there. Remember 
in 1 Corinthians 1 21, for since in the wisdom of God the world 
through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through what? 
Through the foolishness of the message preached to save those 
who believe. So he is absolutely, comprehensively 
sovereign over all things and he has purposed the means of 
preaching as a primary agent in the salvation of sinners. 
And you see that here in Iconium, they so spoke. And then we see 
the great blessing of God upon that speaking. It says that a 
great multitude, both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. So there is this great multitude. It demonstrates that Paul's preaching 
was not according to the wisdom of men, but rather he came in 
a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, according to 1 
Corinthians 2. That's God-owned, God-blessed 
preaching. If sinners are converted, if 
sinners are saved, if a great multitude believes, we give the 
glory to God and to God alone. We don't say, wow, what a great 
preacher. We say, what a great God who 
was pleased to use that preaching to extend His mercy and to demonstrate 
His power in the saving of sinners. But one other thing that I think 
we ought to observe before we move on in Iconium is this emphasis 
on justification by faith alone. Notice that a great multitude, 
both of the Jews and of the Greeks, believed. I have heard it said 
about my preaching that I don't stress repentance enough. Now, 
that may well be the case, but I want to try and provide a rationale 
to you as to why I either do or don't stress repentance enough. On the one hand, I think I do. 
Whenever repentance is in the text, I preach it. On the other 
hand, I teach the confession of faith. Chapter 15 is of repentance. But I think that there's some 
danger in the way that certain fellows preach repentance. I 
think that as we deal with repentance, we need to make sure that we 
don't preach it as a work to be done by the sinner prior to 
his return unto Christ for salvation. In other words, at times, men 
confuse repentance with the fruits of repentance. And so a gospel 
presentation at times may sound like this. Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ and stop smoking crack and you will be saved. 
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and stop frequenting prostitutes 
and you will be saved. There is a subtlety there that 
I do not believe is ultimately helpful. I'm not suggesting that 
persons should continue to frequent prostitutes or smoke crack. That's 
not what I'm emphasizing. But when we look at salvation, 
it's by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ Jesus 
alone. And so when it comes to repentance, 
we need to be careful that we understand what the word means, 
And we need to be careful as to how that concept is utilized 
in the book of Acts. In the first place, the word 
simply, strictly means to change one's mind. That's what's in 
view in repentance. It is to change one's mind. Of course, we typically hear 
repentance being referred to as the fruits of repentance. 
Remember the Baptist, John, is preaching in Luke 3, and he says, 
bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. In other words, if 
your mind has been changed by God, if you've been given faith 
to lay hold of Jesus Christ, if you are saved, then there 
will be consequences, there will be fruits of repentance, persons 
will stop smoking crack and frequenting prostitutes. That's just the 
reality of it. When we look at the book of Acts, 
we see emphases on faith, we see emphases on repentance, and 
then we see an interchangeability between faith and repentance. 
So I want to survey a few of those passages because I think 
this is important. I am not down with certain preachers 
that sound like what Fisher would call legal preachers, men that 
attach works unto coming to Jesus Christ. That is not the case. It's by grace, through faith, 
in Christ Jesus, and I think an accurate understanding of 
repentance will demonstrate that faith and repentance are two 
sides of the same coin. In other words, our faith must 
be penitent faith, and our repentance must be believing repentance. And I think that's what a study 
of the book of Acts demonstrates, and other passages more theological 
in nature. But notice faith or belief in 
the book of Acts. And again, this is just a sampling 
of some of the passages. Turn back to chapter 10. Acts 
chapter 10. This is not comprehensive. If 
you take out a concordance when you go home, you will see that 
I didn't deal with every passage that speaks of faith or belief 
or repentance or the interchangeability of both. I'm taking a sample 
of the passages to set them forth to try and demonstrate why. When 
we call sinners to faith in Jesus Christ, repentance is an issue, 
sure, but it cannot be preached as if it's a work, that it's 
something you do in order to kind of make yourself fit or 
ready to come back to Jesus. That turns the gospel on its 
head. If somebody could fix their life 
to that degree, then why do they need Jesus? If righteousness 
comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. If going to heaven 
means just stop smoking crack, just stop frequenting prostitutes, 
then anybody and everybody can do that. The gift of repentance 
is first and foremost a change of mind. It's a change of mind 
respective of God. It's a change of mind relative 
to who he is in his power, his sovereignty, his glory, and his 
majesty. It is a change of mind with reference 
to ourselves. And that's why the second part 
of the definition from BDAG, after change one's mind, goes 
on to say, feel remorse, repent, be converted. But with reference 
to faith in terms of sinners coming to Christ, notice in 1043, 
to him all the prophets witnessed that through his name, whoever 
believes in him will receive remission of sins. Notice as 
well in chapter 13, verse 38, Therefore let it be known to 
you, brethren, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness 
of sins. And by him everyone who believes 
is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified 
by the law of Moses. Notice, everyone who believes 
is justified. So it's justification by faith 
alone. Notice in chapter 14. Well, we 
don't need to spend time there. 14.1, they so spoke that a great 
multitude believed. And then over in chapter 15, 
look at verse 7. Verse 7, at the Jerusalem council. 
And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said 
to them, men and brethren, you know that a good while ago, God 
chose among us that by my mouth, the Gentiles should hear the 
word of the gospel and believe. Now, as we proceed, I want to 
make it clear. I do absolutely positively believe 
that repentance and faith are necessary. I absolutely positively 
believe that. But if repentance comes like 
this, stop doing that and then go to Jesus. Remember in Jeremiah 
the prophet, Jeremiah chapter 3, God says to incorrigible Judah, 
return unto me ye backsliding children and I will heal your 
backsliding. Again, we don't preach the gospel 
as if you just fix yourself up and then Jesus will receive you 
to himself. That's the pernicious problem 
affecting some preaching of repentance as I perceive it in our generation. 
Legal preaching. Legal preaching is not conducive 
to salvation by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. And we 
need to maintain that Protestant biblical distinctive. Notice 
in 15.9, He made no distinction between us and them, purifying 
their hearts by faith. Chapter 16, Steve read the first 
half. Next week we'll read, God willing, 
unless we all die before then, or Jesus returns. Acts 16.31, 
so they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will 
be saved, you and your household. Look at chapter 18, verse 8, 
the ministry in Corinth. The ministry in Corinth. This 
is the third missionary journey. God willing, we'll see that someday. 
But in chapter 18, verse 8, then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, 
believed on the Lord with all his household, and many of the 
Corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptized. And then again, 
1827. He greatly helped those who had 
believed through grace. And then notice in 24, at verse 
24. And after some days when Felix 
came with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul 
and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. So there's that 
obvious emphasis in the book of Acts on faith, but repentance 
comes up often as well. Turn back to Acts chapter two, 
Acts chapter two. Specifically verse 38, this is 
the preaching on the day of Pentecost and how Peter addresses that 
audience. Verse 38, he says, repent and 
let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for 
the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Spirit. And then over in 319, 319, repent therefore and be converted 
that your sins may be blotted out so that times of refreshing 
may come from the presence of the Lord. Now brethren, these 
men are not legal preachers. Peter is not a legal preacher 
attaching some work to the sinner upon his return unto the Lord 
Christ. Peter preaches repentance properly. Peter doesn't make it a work. 
Peter doesn't make it something requisite on the part of the 
sinner that they have to deal with prior to coming to Jesus. 
If that's the gospel, brethren, it really isn't gospel. Because 
man in his own native strength has the ability to put to death 
his sin and then prepare himself unto reception by Christ, it 
undoes the glorious, gracious character of justification by 
faith alone. And then notice as well in 531. 531, Peter says concerning Jesus, 
him God has exalted to his right hand to be Prince and Savior, 
to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. Look at 1118. Actually, we'll look at 1118 
in a moment. 1730, we'll look at that one 
too. These are ones that deal with the interchangeability. 
So let's move to that. The interchangeability of repentance 
and faith. In other words, the apostles 
treat it as two sides of the same coin. It is believing repentance, 
it is faithful, believing repentance, it is penitent faith. They treat 
it that way because there are similarities. It is a change 
of mind relative to who God is, to who we are, sorrow over our 
own sin, but then this faith, this holding onto or receiving 
the redemptive benefit of our Lord Jesus Christ. Go back to 
Acts chapter two, again, just to see the interchangeability. 
The apostle Peter in verse 38 says, repent and let every one 
of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 
of sins. Notice in verse 41, this same 
group of people, then those who gladly received his word were 
baptized and that day about 3000 souls were added to them. And 
then note how they are described in verse 44. Now, all who believed 
were together. So repent, be baptized in the 
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. These are 
the persons who gladly receive the word of God and they are 
identifiable as those who had believed on Christ Jesus the 
Lord. So that's what I'm suggesting. 
There's an interchangeability which indicates there are two 
sides of the one coin. Faith and repentance are absolutely 
crucial in order to salvation. But it's not the case that repentance 
is us giving something up to somehow prepare ourselves for 
our Lord Jesus. When repentance is preached that 
way, it has become a work. It is under the anathema of the 
apostle in Galatia. Because if Righteousness comes 
through the law, then Christ died in vain. Notice as well, 
Acts chapter 10. Once again, that text. Acts 10, 43, to him all the prophets 
witnessed that through his name, whoever believes in him will 
receive remission of sins. Now, chapter 11 is closely connected. Chapter 11 is Peter's explanation 
of what happened to Cornelius and his household to the Jews. And in verse 18, it says, when 
they heard these things, they became silent and they glorified 
God saying, then God has also granted to the Gentiles, notice, 
repentance to life. So Peter says, whoever believes, 
and then they all say, this is wonderful, God has granted them 
repentance to life. Faith and repentance are the 
two sides of the same coin. That is conspicuous here in Acts 
10 and 11. But as well, we have Acts 17. I mentioned we wouldn't read 
it, we'll read it now. Look at Acts 17 at verse 30. Truly, these 
times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere 
to repent, calls all men everywhere to repent. Now notice in verse 
34, however, some men joined him and believed, among them 
Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Emerus, and others with 
them. They believed, you see that? He urges on them repentance, 
and then they are described as those who have come to Christ 
as those who had believed. Again, two sides, same coin, 
both are essential in terms of gospel preaching. Unfortunately, 
at times, legal preachers confound repentance and make it seem like 
it's something the sinner must do before they return to Jesus. If you are a sinner here this 
morning, there is nothing you can do! That's what necessitated 
the Savior. That's why Christ came. That's 
why he lived. That's why he died. That's why 
he was raised the third day. The imputation of the sole righteousness 
of Christ in his active and in his passive obedience, that's 
requisite. It's not you stopping this and 
making yourself fit and appropriate to come to the Savior. Bring 
the garbage because Jesus forgives. Bring the garbage because Jesus 
cleanses. Bring it. Not in the sense that 
I'm gonna bring it and hold on to it, but this is the place 
to bring sin. Remember in the prophet Zechariah, 
he tells of a day when there will be a fountain open for sin 
and uncleanness. What does that mean? It means 
that one of the aspects, one of the parts of the mission of 
our Lord Jesus Christ is to take the guilty, the vile, and the 
helpless, and to cleanse them with His own precious blood. 
This is absolutely crucial. If you think, wow, I can't come 
to Christ because I have this thing in my life that I need 
to get in order first. Come to Christ and He'll give 
you the power to get that in order. It's a beautiful thing. 
Not only is there justification by faith alone, grounded in the 
work of the Savior for us, but upon justification by faith alone, 
He gives us the Spirit to work in us. It is a beautiful construction 
that God has purpose for the salvation of His people. For 
salvation or justification, and then sanctification as well. And then notice, 1121. 1121. And the hand of the Lord was 
with them, and a great number believed and repented. They believed 
and turned to the Lord. That's a fundamental assumption 
or fundamental understanding of this change of mind. It's 
not a change of mind about where you want to go to school. It's 
not a change of mind about what you're going to have for dinner. 
It's a change of mind about God, about you, about your sin. And 
this faith and turning to the Lord go hand in hand together. 
Some have also gone the opposite way and taught that repentance 
is a work for later on. That's the really super spiritual 
one. That's garbage as well. Faith 
and repentance are the two sides of the same coin, and they come 
absolutely from God in His grace to us. Notice in 19.4. Then Paul 
said, John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying 
to the people that they should believe on him who would come 
after him, that is on Christ Jesus. So John the Baptist preaching 
on repentance was an urging of the people to believe on the 
Messiah who was to come. And then in chapter 20, verse 
21, this is a wonderful passage, not that the others aren't. I 
know whenever a preacher says, this is a wonderful passage, 
it's almost implicated that the others aren't. They're all great, 
all 31,000 verses in the Old and New Testament are wonderful. 
I think it's 31,107. I think that's the specific number 
of verses in the Bible. Now that's gonna give or take 
a little bit depending on the tradition you happen to be in, 
whether it's the King James or the non-King James. So give or 
take, 31,000, good round number. But when it comes to this reality, 
Paul summarizes his missionary mindset. This is what Paul was 
about. If you took a knife and you pricked 
Paul, he would bleed this. Spurgeon said that of John Bunyan. When you pricked his flesh, he 
bled bibline. He was so full of Bible that 
if you poked his flesh, he would actually bleed out Bible. Now 
again, that's metaphorical. I don't think Spurgeon was suggesting 
if we meet John Bunyan to actually stick a knife in him. But when 
it comes to the Apostle Paul, 2021 is a great summary statement 
concerning his mission, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks' repentance 
toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Two sides, 
same coin. If justification by grace alone, 
through faith alone, in Christ alone, means we come as we are 
and He saves us by grace, then adding repentance to that doesn't 
change the mix. It's when we say you have to 
have these fruits of repentance, you have to have a new design, 
you have to have a new desire, you have to get rid of stuff, 
and then the Lord will take you. That is false. That is wrong. That falls under the apostolic 
condemnation, and I suggest it's happening all over the place, 
and we need to be able to spot it so we don't fall prey to it. 
One final passage that combines or shows the interchangeability 
of the two. Chapter 26. Chapter 26, Paul's rehearsal 
of his conversion before Agrippa. Later on in the book of Acts, 
it's not just unbelieving Jews that Paul has to deal with, but 
it's also the Roman Empire, vis-à-vis the rulers, those men in charge. So he stands before Agrippa, 
he gives a statement concerning his salvation, and then notice 
specifically in verse 15, so I said, who are you? And he said, 
I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but rise and stand on your feet, 
for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister 
and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the 
things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from 
the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now 
send you, to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness 
to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive 
forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified 
by faith in me. So the emphasis falls initially 
on this repentance, to open their eyes in order to turn them from 
darkness to life and from the power of Satan to God, that they 
may receive the forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among 
those who are sanctified by what? By faith in me. It's interchangeable. The Apostle Peter in Acts 2.38 
doesn't have to give a long, detailed explanation concerning 
theology and the terms utilized. Repent and be baptized in the 
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins is legit. It's 
consistent. That's gospel preaching. The 
misstep is, is when we suggest that persons need to do that 
before they're fit to come to Christ. That's what's wrong. And that's what we need to take 
exception to, faith and repentance. And ultimately, we need to stand 
and bow before God because they're gifts given by Him. Faith and repentance are the 
gifts given by God in His grace to needy sinners that He has 
purposed unto salvation. And these are the things necessary 
to respond to that Word, the instrumentality of the Word. 
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. God gives 
those graces. God gives those blessings. So when it comes to repentance, 
I suggest that the doctrine needs to be handled biblically, first 
and foremost. It needs to be handled carefully 
so that we don't have a rank and file of legal preachers that 
are basically telling people to fix themselves before they 
come to the one who fixes sinners. It just doesn't make sense. That's 
kind of like, okay, I know the trash man's coming on Wednesday, 
so I need to take all my garbage on Tuesday to the dump. What, 
are you preparing yourself? That's his job. He picks up the 
garbage at your house, right? It's not this preparation. It's 
not this, I want to make myself fit and ready for this. No, you 
allow the garbage man, to use that sort of analogy, to do his 
job. When we preach, fix yourself, 
we take away from Jesus, because it's his grand business, to fix 
us. He's the savior. He's the mediator. He's the prophet, 
priest, and king. And again, we need to appreciate 
Paul's statement, Galatians 2.21. If righteousness comes to the 
law, then Christ died in vain. If there's anything in a sinner 
that can fix themselves and make themselves beautiful so that 
they may be received by Christ, that is pernicious and contra 
the gospel that we proclaim. And we need to make sure we understand 
that. So I had to get that B out of 
my bonnet. Let's move on to the opposition of the Jews. Verses 
2 and 3 back in Acts 14. Notice the tactics of the Jews 
in verse 2. Now when it speaks of the Jews, 
Luke is not anti-Semitic. He's talking about unbelieving 
Jews. He's talking about those who 
rejected Jesus as Lord. The Apostle Paul was a Jew. The 
Apostle Peter was a Jew. But in terms of the demarcation, 
you had unbelieving Israel that rejected the Messiah. They rejected 
the Lord Jesus and his claim to Messiah-ship. So basically, 
they were those who were committed to a Judaistic practice minus 
Jesus of Nazareth. So that's the Jews in the context. Again, it's not anti-Semitic. 
It's simply identifying where the opposition to Christ and 
his people comes from. So in verse 2 we read, the unbelieving 
Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against 
the brethren. Go back for a moment to Acts 
chapter 6. We've already seen this transpire. I think we already 
see it in our own generation. I think we reflect upon it whenever 
we consider the very history of the church. There's always 
this sort of division, right? There's always these two sorts 
of camps. In a moment we're going to see 
how the city divided in that regard. Some were with the Jews, 
some were with the apostles. Well, here in Acts chapter 6, 
remember the preaching of Stephen, His opponents could not best 
him in argument, and so they turned to this particular course. 
Verse 12, they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, 
and they came upon him, seized him and brought him to the council. 
They also set up false witnesses who said, this man does not cease 
to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law. 
For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy 
this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us. 
Now brethren, I think this is being played out right before 
our very eyes, first in the political arena, but as well in the church 
arena. This is the way it happens. If 
persons can't best your argument, they get mad, they get violent, 
they stir up others to oppose you, and ultimately pain, punishment, 
torture, suffering, and ultimately death are inflicted on the people 
of God. When on Sunday morning we take 
our world tour and we learn about the various persons suffering 
among every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, their great crime 
is identifying with the triune God. Their great opposition to 
their civil state is to say, we have one king and it's Jesus. Brethren, again, freedom of speech 
is false if the people of God cannot confess faith in Jesus 
without fear of retribution from an ungodly state. We all talk 
about freedom of speech. It's one of those fundamental 
inalienable rights we all want. If you think it's extant, I've 
got a bridge to sell you in another part of the world. It is increasingly 
being attacked. It is increasingly being destroyed. And you need to understand the 
tactics involved. If they can't silence you in 
terms of good argumentation, it's typically escalated vis-a-vis 
violence, imprisonment, confiscation of goods, and death. Doesn't 
it just make you wonder why it is that way? As I was a kid growing 
up, I would hear that sort of old adage, never talk about politics 
and religion. Well, no one really ever explained 
why. I've come to learn why. Because 
if you disagree with people, they'll want to kill you. That's 
just as simple as it gets. So we need to be aware of that. 
And I'm not suggesting we don't talk about politics and religion. 
I'm suggesting that we understand the tactics of the enemy. Smear, 
misinformation, again, stirring up these Gentiles and poisoning 
their minds. They took pains to get the Gentiles 
in Iconium to side with them in opposition to the preachers 
of the gospel. Again, I've often thought if 
Christianity is as outlandish as they seem to suppose, then 
who cares? I've never wanted to kill somebody 
who believes that unicorns exist. Whatever, if you think there's 
unicorns, you can go to that mystical land and enjoy them 
until the cows come home. But in terms of Christianity, 
we'll see that in Acts chapter 17. Do you know why there was 
persecution in Thessalonica? Because they preached another 
king, Jesus. See, the Roman Empire, along 
with the Greeks before them, and consistent with what we find 
anywhere in world history, and typically the same sorts of things 
today, was very polytheistic. You can have any kind of a God. 
You can have all sorts of God. Well, the offense of the Christian 
church was, no, those gods are all false. There is one true 
and living God. So the opposition came to the 
Christians because they emphasized the solitary nature of God. One God, three persons, Father, 
Son, Holy Spirit, that God is the true and living one. Do you 
realize that in the early Roman Empire at this day and age, it 
was the Christians who were called atheists? Christians were atheists. Why? Because they denied this 
pantheon. They denied this multiplicity 
of gods, all the while insisting on the one true and living God. 
See, the opposition does not like it, because ultimately John 
3 is right. What's Jesus say in John 3? That 
darkness hates the light. That darkness doesn't want to 
come to the light, lest its evil deeds are exposed. See, when 
we emphasize Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, what 
are we saying? We're saying that every other 
thought out there is a fiction. Every other mindset, religiously 
speaking, is a fiction. Every other thought in terms 
of approach to God is false. There's one way, no one comes 
to the Father except through me. Now, sinners get upset about 
that, and sinners will stir up other sinners to oppose you. 
Sinners will do everything they can to try and stop that message. 
but we have the surety saying to us, Christ the Lord, I will 
build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against 
it. Even here in this city of Iconium, Christ builds the church 
in the midst of opposition. So the Jews stir up these minds, 
but notice the faithfulness of the brethren in 3A. Now the brethren 
there could be the Christians as a whole, or it could be specifically 
Paul and Barnabas. Either way, I don't think it 
matters in terms of the interpretation of the passage. But notice, after 
the statement concerning the tactics of the Jews in verse 
2, we have this statement concerning the faithfulness of the brethren 
in verse 3a. Therefore, they stayed there 
a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord. Beautiful thing, 
isn't it? Oh, there's persecution, there's 
opposition. Now we will see there is a time 
to cut bait. Jesus said that in Matthew chapter 
10, 23. If they persecute you in this city, then flee to the 
next city. That's a legitimate option. It 
is foolhardy to say, well, you know, they're going to kill me 
if I stay here, so I'm going to stay here and be killed because 
God's sovereign. No, there's instances and times 
where it's perfectly legitimate on the part of Paul and Barnabas 
to flee from Iconium when the stones start flying. That's okay. But in terms of this initial 
response to the opposition of the Jews, they stayed there a 
long time. In fact, there's a causal connection. It's this way. Because 
the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned 
their minds against the brethren, therefore they stayed there a 
long time. In other words, if these guys 
are going to stir up these Gentiles, we need to dig in. We need to 
labor on. We need to proclaim this truth. 
We need to see that these Gentiles aren't poisoned by these unbelieving 
Jews, such that they may believe and come to everlasting life. 
This is the faithfulness of the Church. Whatever man tries to 
do to stop it, she keeps marching on. She doesn't say, oh, it's 
too difficult to function in this world. It's too hard to 
be a believer in 21st century Canada. It's so hard. I'm going 
to give it up. That's not what they did. You 
look at the history of the church and wherever you find God's true 
church, you'll find a group of faithful, persevering people 
that fight the good fight. They run the race. They keep 
the faith. Whatever happens in terms of 
man's opposition, Satan's opposition, they don't stop, they don't kowtow, 
they don't change the message, they don't somehow accommodate 
to a godless culture. No, they remain faithful and 
they speak boldly in the name of the Lord. And that is the 
apostolic response to this persecution that is occurring. And then notice 
that God confirms. We see not only the tactics of 
the Jews, the faithfulness of the brethren, but the confirmation 
of the Lord in 3B. Therefore, they stayed there 
a long time speaking boldly in the Lord. Then notice who the 
Lord was granting witness to the word of his grace, granting 
signs and wonders to be done by their hands. So God confirms 
what Paul and Barnabas are doing by strengthening Paul and Barnabas, 
by saving sinners in Iconium, and by seeing the church expand 
and grow. We see as well, specifically, 
the Lord bore witness to the word of his grace. Isn't that 
a wonderful way to sort of picture this and to describe it? When 
we come to the gospel, isn't it not, or is it not the word 
of his grace? God's grace to us. That's why 
this idea of working and then you'll be saved, militates against 
the very concept of grace. This is why election is the means 
God uses in terms of purposing who it is that will be saved. 
Election is consistent with grace. Those things go hand in hand 
together. It is elect persons given grace 
by God to believe and repent. This is Paul's point in Romans 
at certain places. But it is the word of His grace 
that we imbibe by faith in Christ. John Gill in one of those fits 
were a flight of excellent speech. He says, the gospel, so-called 
because it is a publication of the grace and favor of God to 
the sons of men, in the choice of some of them to everlasting 
life, in the mission of his son to redeem them, in the justification 
of them by his righteousness and in the forgiveness of them 
through his blood, in the regeneration of them by his spirit, in adopting 
them into his family and making them heirs of eternal life. That 
is in fact the word of His grace. It's a beautiful description 
of what we find in Genesis to Revelation. And then the Lord 
granted signs and wonders. Look at that, granting signs 
and wonders to be done by their hands. Now, Paul will engage 
in this more in the future. We see it already in Lystra with 
that man. He will do some more later on. Typically, signs and 
wonders are the prerogative of God. It's him doing the signs 
and wonders, but his prerogative is to use the apostles. Now, 
Philip was an apostolic man, so Acts 8 tells us that an apostolic 
man, he wasn't an apostle, but he was a man closely connected 
to the apostles, had or was the agency by which signs and wonders 
came. Paul the apostle, as well, is 
distinguished as one whom God has used to bring these signs 
and wonders. Again, it wasn't willy-nilly, 
it wasn't the case that everybody had this wonder-working ability. 
Simply was not the case. There were key individuals that 
were tasked with this so as to confirm the Word of God. When 
the signs and wonders come, it authenticates that the one engaged 
in the sign and wonder is an actual agent of God, and the 
word that he is speaking is from God. That's how signs and wonders 
function in the book of Acts, consistent with Jesus' words 
in Mark 16, 20. They went out and preached everywhere, the 
Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying 
signs. That's the emphasis on signs 
and wonders in the Bible. Certainly it's a good thing for 
a lame man to be healed. It's certainly a good thing for 
a dead man to be raised. It's good for a blind man to 
be able to see. But the end result of all those 
signs and wonders, including in the ministry of Jesus Christ, 
was to confirm that these agents were speaking the true word of 
God. That's why Moses did signs and wonders. That's why the prophets 
did signs and wonders. That's why Jesus does signs and 
wonders. And that's why the apostles do signs and wonders. Again, 
to ameliorate the downtrodden and poor, help people to be sure, 
but to confirm the word that these men are speaking is God's 
word. It's authentication. As well, this is a consistent 
passage, Galatians 3.5. You don't need to turn there, 
I'll just read it to you. But Galatians 3.5, Paul says, Well, 
this first missionary journey was to the Galatian churches. When Paul writes that in Galatians 
3.5, you go, wait a minute, I don't remember all these signs and 
wonders. It's right here. Paul is in southern Galatia. 
These are the churches that he has gone to in this first missionary 
journey. And when he writes, he appeals 
to that fact. Now notice thirdly and finally, 
and we won't spend much time here, but the division of the 
city. the division of the city in verses 4 and 5, and then you 
have their departure in verses 6 and 7. In terms of the division, 
it says the multitude of the city was divided, part sided 
with the Jews and part sided with the apostles. Again, I think 
we ought to insert part sided with the unbelieving Jews. This 
is not you know, a commentary on racial things, but rather 
it's simply a commentary on what's happening in the city of Iconium. 
So the unbelieving Jews, they have persuaded, they have stirred 
up, they have poisoned enough minds so that a multitude in 
the city has sided with them. And again, I think this is consistent 
with our Lord's ministry. In John 7, 43, we read, So there 
was a division among the people because of him. It's a similarity 
with every age of the church. The similarity that we find. 
Matthew 12, 30 is the governing sort of principle here. He who 
is not with me, Jesus says, is against me. There's not like, 
you know, I kind of like him. You're either with him or you're 
against him. You're either for Christ or you're against Christ. 
And I realize that the opposers of Christ in that regard, they're 
not the people that are out there worshiping the devil or, you 
know, bowing to Baal necessarily. They might say, well, I have 
fond thoughts of Jesus at least twice a year. You know, I'm not 
against him. But the scripture says you are. 
It's only one of two places to be. You're either in Christ or 
you're outside of Christ. If you're outside of Christ today, 
may I exhort you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And for 
good measure, I'll add repentance. Repentance unto life. Believe 
and repent that thou might be saved. You're either with him 
or against him. That's What Scripture teaches, 
that's what experience exemplifies in our own lives. The contrast 
in Iconium, some sided with the unbelieving Jews and some sided 
with the apostles. Notice there, verse 4. I'm sorry, 
yeah, verse 4. They're referred to as apostles. 
I don't want to get too far afield here, but here and then again 
in verse 14. Paul and Barnabas are referred 
to as apostles. Now, Paul's apostolic ministry 
is most sort of amplified in Galatians 1. And then typically 
wherever he writes, he identifies himself as an apostle. But he 
doesn't do it in this, I'm the great and mighty apostle. He 
always calls himself Paul. And then he says, a bondservant 
of Jesus Christ, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't, 
you know, the right Reverend Dr. Paul. That's just not what 
he did. He didn't have that sort of aroma 
to him, the dignified and the revered. No, it was a normal 
fellow used by God. But in terms of apostolic ministry, 
he was an apostle of Christ. When we hear the word apostle, 
it typically and most often means the 12 apostles that were selected. But the word has a larger sort 
of range, and it can mean those sent out by the church. And these 
men, Paul and Barnabas, were sent out by the church in Antioch, 
so they were functioning as apostles. The word's also utilized in 2 
Corinthians 8, I think at verse 23. where messengers to the churches 
are referred to as apostles. So just understand, most of the 
time in the New Testament, we see apostle identified with the 
12. But there are those instances 
where it's used, again, in a little a sort of way. Capital A, 12, 
little a, other persons that are doing apostle-like stuff 
or being sent out by churches. So that's what the reference 
there means. But then notice the violence 
of the opposition. But again, this is the opposition. When people oppose us, do we 
want to burn down their cities? No. Do we want to go to dart 
and tackle and, you know, gear up to take care of business? 
No. It's just the rage of the God-hater 
that wants to kill somebody that represents God. It really is 
a display of the depravity of man. I'd like to think we could 
disagree on stuff and not want to firebomb each other's cars. 
I'd like to think that a group of people could live harmoniously 
together, even if they weren't all singing off the same page. 
But boy, we're seeing it increase. We see it in the pages of the 
New Testament. We see it throughout the history of the church. The solidarity of unbelieving 
Jews, Gentiles, and then notice as well, rulers. rulers, and 
when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews 
with the rulers to abuse and stone them. Now it's come from 
corporate, it's come from the higher-ups, not just the unbelieving 
Jews and their rulers, but the text seems to indicate civil 
authority. We've already seen civil authority 
come against the church in Acts chapter 12. Civil authority and 
ecclesiastical authority combined together against the true church 
is a really difficult enterprise for the people of God to endure. 
But to endure is what we've been called to do, and that is precisely 
what happens. These brothers lived to fight 
another day. They depart, according to verses 
6 and 7. They became aware of it and fled 
to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lyconia, and to the surrounding 
region, and they were preaching the gospel there. As I mentioned 
earlier, Matthew 10, 23, when they persecute you in this city, 
flee to another. And then notice, it outlines 
for us the rest of the first missionary journey. Lystra is 
the next section, verses 8 to 18. And then you've got Derbe, 
19 and 20. Paul is stoned there. Then Paul stands and says, through 
many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. And then, 
as I said, they return. But it was a blessed benefit 
of the persecution that they endured that these other people 
groups got the word. Now, I'm going to say this, hopefully, 
reverently, hesitantly, but nonetheless, truly, if there's never persecution 
coming against the church, we will be quite content to just 
sit and do our thing. Remember, it was the persecution 
after Stephen that caused the people of God to leave Jerusalem 
and go to Judea and Samaria. We might not choose that, oh 
God, bring persecution, so we'll get off our, you know, lazy rear 
ends and go do what we're supposed to do. We wouldn't choose that 
particular pursuit of activity, but God does that to deal with 
us in our comfortable state, to bring a bit of hardship, to 
deal with us in our fragility, and get us outside ourselves, 
so we'll go to Lystra, so we'll go to Derby. Matthew Henry made 
the observation, in times of persecution, ministers may see 
cause to quit the spot when yet they do not quit the work. That's 
wisdom, brethren. And then Matthew Poole commenting 
on this. He says, and thousands had not 
heard of Christ if persecution had not driven the ministers 
of the gospel unto them, God working good out of evil and 
causing the sun when it leaves one part to shine upon another. So even in this division, even 
in this opposition, even in this violence, this attempt to stone 
the very brothers in Jesus Christ, God blesses it and overrules 
it for good, so that Paul and Barnabas will continue, so that 
Paul and Barnabas will return to Antioch, and Paul and Barnabas 
will then engage in two more missionary journeys. Paul ends 
up in prison, according to the book of Acts. At the end of Acts 
28, where do we find Paul? He's in prison. The book ends 
around AD 62. Well, Paul gets out again after 
prison, and some have called that the fourth missionary journey. 
He continues to engage incessantly in what Christ has called him 
unto. And if there's a takeaway message in terms of practicality 
for this church, that's it. We need to be faithful. We need 
to be persevering. We need to be going forward. 
We need to be steadfast. We need to endure. When there 
is increasing opposition to the message we preach and the life 
by grace we live, the answer is not to stop doing that. The answer is to press onward, 
to one day hear Christ the Lord say, well done, good and faithful 
servant. That's the goal of our instruction. Well, in conclusion, brethren, 
we need, first, faithful preachers. They so spoke. They didn't speak 
about them. They didn't engage in story time. They didn't move the pulpit and 
put a big easy chair there and just, you know, live it up with 
their hearers. They were faithful. They so spoke 
that a great multitude believed. It's not believing their stories 
or their anecdotes or their illustrations. It's believing the message of 
Christ and Him crucified. So when it says they so spoke, 
we rightly conclude they so spoke the truth as it is in Jesus. That's the primary emphasis for 
ministers of the gospel. When you look at the qualifications 
of elders and beacons in 1 Timothy 3, you will see great similarity 
between elders and beacons in terms of the virtue, in terms 
of the graces, in terms of the gifts that a person has in their 
holiness and in their life. But there's one thing that differentiates 
elders from beacons, and that is an aptness to teach. You see, a man may be successful, 
a man may be well-loved, a man may be looked approvingly on 
by the entire congregation, but if the man can't preach the truth 
or teach the truth, he's not supposed to be an elder. Now, 
for whatever reason, that offends people today. For whatever reason, 
people get their noses bent out of shape if you suggest, no, 
continue in your day job. It doesn't seem like the Lord 
has called you to this. What an affront. It's not an 
affront. It's not a sin to not have received 
a gift. It's not a sin to not be able 
to teach. It's not a sin to not be able 
to preach. It's a sin to occupy the office 
of elder and not be able to preach and not be able to teach. That's 
the sin, brethren, and that's what the church is tasked with 
making sure doesn't happen. If we have ministers of the gospel, 
they need to be ministers of the gospel. Secondly, the necessity 
of, may I say it, courageous preachers. These men are full 
of courage. There's opposition. It would 
melt other men. Other men would say, well, I 
don't think I can continue here. They stayed there a long time. 
After the first whiff of opposition, they didn't flee. It was when 
the stone started flying. And again, that's wisdom. And 
we want men that are wise enough to fight another day. But we 
want courageous men. Men that will, in the language 
of the prophet Isaiah, spare not, lift up their voices like 
a trumpet, and make Jerusalem to know her sins, not to kowtow, 
and not to whine, and not to be prissy men. Thirdly, we need 
wise preachers. It is important to know when 
to flee one city for another. So I've mentioned relative to 
preaching, God uses means. God uses the means that's inside 
your cranium as well. If stones are flying, God's not 
against you from ducking. God's not against you from moving. God's not against you from fleeing 
that city and going to another. There's this idea, well, you 
know, God's sovereign, and why put a seatbelt on? Because God's 
sovereign, and he made the men that made seatbelts. So put the 
seatbelt on. The use of means is not an argument 
against the sovereignty of God. The use of means is consistent 
with the sovereignty of God. And then finally, the necessity 
of the Holy Spirit in connection with preaching. They didn't speak 
according to their own strength or ability. They so spoke. In 
1 Corinthians chapter 2, I'll just read the passage. You can 
turn there happily if you like. 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verses 
1 to 5. Now, this section in 1 Corinthians 
1 and 2, you need to kind of get the drift. In the first place, 
he talks about the foolishness of preaching. The foolishness 
of preaching in the first part, beginning in chapter 1 at verse 
18. And then he talks about the foolishness or the folly of the 
recipients of the preaching. The Corinthians, not many wise, 
not many noble. He's showing the superior wisdom 
of God over against what men perceive to be wisdom, according 
to this world. But then God's glory is revealed 
in the preacher himself. And this is what Paul says in 
1 Corinthians 2, 1 to 5, he says, and I, brethren, when I came 
to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, declaring 
to you the testimony of God. He doesn't say, I'm the best 
thing since sliced bread. I am awesome. I just opened my 
mouth and great things. That's not Paul. Paul was not 
a trained orator. Paul was not the guy you would 
have expected to bring it. But he says that God chose him 
so that when sinners get saved in the bringing of it, it's not 
Paul that's celebrated, it's God. This is the point. And I, 
brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence 
of speech or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God. 
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus 
Christ and Him crucified. Amen. I was with you in weakness, 
in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching 
were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration 
of the spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the 
wisdom of men, but in the power of God. That's what happened 
in Iconium. They so spoke that a great multitude, 
both of the Jews and of the Greeks, believed. The Holy Spirit is 
absolutely crucial to our exercises of public religion. I've said 
it before, and I hope I die saying it. If you're not praying for 
the Holy Spirit's ministry among us, when we gather together on 
the Lord's day, may I exhort you with every fiber of my being 
to do so. We're not going to see sinners 
saved. We're not going to see saints edified. We're not going 
to see growth in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord 
and Jesus Christ unless the Spirit comes. We need the Holy Spirit. It's not just the Pentecostals 
or the Charismatics that should emphasize the Spirit. It's the 
reformed. If we don't have the spirit, 
brethren, that word will be like a dead letter. C.H. Spurgeon said, if we have not 
the spirit which Jesus promised, we cannot perform the commission 
which Jesus gave. They so spoke that a great multitude, 
both of the Jews and of the Greeks, believed. You may not have understood 
the entire distinction between faith and repentance. You may 
not have understood what I mean by two sides of the same coin. 
But hear me now. Faith, belief, look unto Jesus 
Christ. I think the best analogy is the 
inspired one given by our Lord in John's Gospel. Just as Moses 
lifted the serpent, so must also the Son of Man be lifted up. 
God was angry with the people of Israel, and he sent fiery 
serpents to bite them. And the people were dying. And 
God gave instruction to Moses to make this brazen or bronze 
serpent, to put it in the wilderness. And the instruction was given, 
look and live. Not drag yourself over there 
and kiss it. Not suck the poison out of your 
wound first and then spit it out and then sort of drag it. 
Look and live. That's what Jesus says is involved 
in salvation. Look and live. Drys off of yourself. Look unto Jesus, the author and 
finisher of faith. The one in whom alone there is 
forgiveness. The one in whom alone there is 
a righteousness that avails with God. faith in our Lord Jesus 
Christ. If you have not that faith, may 
I exhort you under God to believe, to look and live for the salvation 
of your souls. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word, and we thank you for this historical 
record of the founding of the churches of Christ. We thank 
you, God, that it's such a realistic depiction. It shows us not only 
the success but also the opposition and the violence perpetrated 
against the people of God. We know, Father, that you are 
the Lord God of truth, and you don't just give us a rosy picture 
and call us to a particular way of life, but you give us all 
the facts, all the data. In fact, our Lord Jesus said, 
in this world you will have much tribulation, but you always encourage 
us to be of good cheer, for Christ has overcome the world. May we 
as a church be of good cheer. May we seek by grace to persevere. May we seek to be steadfast. 
And may we one day hear from our Lord, well done, good and 
faithful servant. And we ask this in the name of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, we'll close our service 
this morning by singing 563. 563, when you find that, you can stand 
and we will sing together.